The Mint Report for 21 December 2009

New Delhi: NTPC has been hoping to secure coal supplies for its operations, but those plans have now hit an obstacle. The company has failed to get clearances from the environment ministry for all eight of its captive coal blocks. The government had allotted the eight blocks to NTPC to help it lock in a stable fuel supply and protect it from price fluctuations. The fuel supplies are crucial to NTPC because 80% of its installed capacity runs on coal and many of them don’t have sufficient stocks of the fuel.

One year after the financial crisis, India’s mall developers appear to be back in the game. According to an estimate from the consultants Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj, 15 new malls have opened in seven major Indian cities in just the last three months. And another 48 malls are slated to open next year.

Honda Motor says it will unveil a new concept car at the auto show in Delhi next month. The car will be a concept model of a small car that Honda is working on for markets in India and other developing countries. Toyota also plans to unveil a new car of its own at the auto show.

Tata Motors says it is developing public transport that’s more environment-friendly. The company is working on a hybrid city bus, but has not said when it will come out with the final product. Tata Motors is currently working with a Norwegian company to produce an electric version of its Indica car that that will be launched in parts of Europe.

Citibank has launched a universal mortgage product named CitiHome One. The new product will allow customers to get a home loan that combines a normal loan with a credit line.

The prime minister’s economic advisor C. Rangarajan has suggested the RBI could tighten its monetary policy and raise interest rates to help control rising inflation. The RBI will come out with its next statement on monetary policy on the 29 January.